Hello guys,

I recently ordered some items from Studio/Ace catalogue around Xmas time. I didn't get everything I ordered, therefore making things hectic as I had to go elsewhere to complete my gifts bought.

I was quite annoyed by this as its was quite unprofessional by the catalogue. Maybe they were out of stock ? When I got my bill I didn't pay right away as I was disappointed not to get everything, plus I was on benefits. The bill was only around £15.00 in total. Now I am being threatened by a company called Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd for fees in excess of 65.16 + £20.00 admin fee (for sending ONE letter). I don't agree with this amount as these fees are really unfair/unreasonable.

I have been threatened with 1.bailiffs, 2.contact of my employer to recover funds, 3.property blacklisting and 4.court attendance.

What can I do, I'm only 19 and don't know how to deal with this type of mess...Any HELP would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Kirsty19

Hi Kirsty,

this is Maggie,

see my thread Wescot ,please help.It is to deal with Studio Cards originally.

Hope it helps you,I know its a long thread ,but I hope it will do you some good.

Maggie

Do you have a link Maggie ? Many thanks...I'm just finding my feet on this board and its quite tricky to navigate !

Hi Kirsty,

Just type in (wescot,please help,)in the search frame.Sorry ,I haven,t learnt yet how to "link" on my computer yet.

Don,t worry,we are all here to help you.

Maggie

Kirsty, maggies thread below

http://http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/32152-wescot-please-help-17.html#post943531

Saves searching

Thanks Tau.Very much .I have been concerned about Kirsty19 all day.

Hope this helps you in someway Kirsty19.

We are all here to help you as you can see.

Maggie

Hello guys,

I have been threatened with 1.bailiffs, 2.contact of my employer to recover funds, 3.property blacklisting and 4.court attendance.

None of those can be applied unless you have a CCJ.

1. Any 'bailiffs' that call round will be debt collectors, not bailiffs, and they have no powers of entry whatsoever. See the Debt Action Group section on the main forum page for more about the differences between Court Bailiffs and lowly slime-wyrm debt collectors.

2. Employer contact would be a breach of the Data Protection Act without a court order; with a court order (CCJ) they can apply for an Attachment of Earnings order, so that a small amount will be deducted from each paycheque. This would be set by the court to an affordable level for your financial situation.

3. Property blacklisting - again, needs a CCJ and an application to put a charge on the house. There is no way that a judge would consider a Charging Order for such a small amount.

4. Court attendance - not as scary as you might think, as it would be the Small Claims Court, or the 'everyman' court; you would get as much of a chance to explain your situation to the judge as the catalogue company would.

Have you actually contacted the company about the missing goods? You need to write them a letter, sent Special, outlining the situation and making an offer to pay what you actually owe, whilst disputing the rest. Make it clear that you're more than willing to pay what you do owe, but refuse to be charged over the odds for a mistake of their making. Post it up here before you send it and someone'll have a read through.

You can also make a request for your original agreement with the company; a lot of companies don't store them with the care that they're supposed to, and without an original signed credit agreement, the debt becomes unenforceable in court. Again, you need to go to the Debt section and read up on Consumer Credit Agreements; the criteria may apply in your case.

Hope that helps.

Hi Demon_x_slash,

I have paid the original amount I owed - was only £14.00, I didn't have to pay for items that didn't arrive (I wasn't charged for them).

Its the admin fees and moorcroft fees that I don't want to pay as I feel they have no grounds for charging them. I have the first letter in the envelope, but Hull has been flooded for two days - should be posting tomorrow with a £1 cheque.

Thanks for your help, will post any response by them ASAP...

Thanks Tau.Very much .I have been concerned about Kirsty19 all day.

Hope this helps you in someway Kirsty19.

We are all here to help you as you can see.

Maggie

Thankyou Maggie, you've all been great...

will post any news ASAP !

Thankyou Tau - I'm on it right away!

Hi everyone, just got a phone call from 0161 4752802 asking for Kirsty (+ surname). We just said she's not here. They then said "can you ask her to call Andy back - its a business call" on same number. I chose not to answer as someone on here advised me to sort everything through post.

Did I do the correct thing ? Should I call back ? I have already sent them the 1st request with the £1 cheque etc. They must have got it today...

No, don't call back - in one of your CCA/harrassment letters I'm sure it states that you will only deal with them in writing. If you're that worried about it, write them a short line in the morning saying something along the lines of: "Your representative attempted to contact me; I have previously stated only in writing; I stand by that; all further communication not in writing will be ignored..." Personally, I'd just wait and let the deadline for the CCA run out.

Yes, I put a disclaimer at the foot of the letter stating to only contact me in writing. Which they obviously failed to abide by...How long before the CCA expires ?

AFAIK, but you'll get a much more assured answer in the Debt forum, upon receipt it's 12 working days before they're in breach, and a further 30 days before they're in criminal breach and the debt becomes unenforceable. Bear in mind, though, that the company can (although unlikely) apply to the courts to get the debt 're-activated'; they will also find this very difficult to do if they can't produce the paperwork. As I said, this is better asked on the Debt forum, as this isn't my speciality

Unless you have kept all your statements, I would also make an SAR request for a list of all the charges they have added on using the template letter.

I sent the SAR letter to ACE 2 weeks ago on behalf of my husband, they have just replied with a list of their charges which they have immediately refunded crediting his account. They also credited the £10 chq he sent them onto his account.

Regards Joan

Still awaiting any contact from them since the phone call. Unsure how to look upon this (negative or positive) ???

Kirsty,

I had exactly the same problem as you and I was adamant that I would not pay the outrageous admin charges (£60.00!!), this is what I did:

Copied a letter from the BBC website regarding the refunding of bank charges, changed the wording slightly and sent it recorded delivery. About a week later I had a letter from Studio and they agreed to wipe the charges from my account!

RESULT!!!!!!!!

Hope you manage to sort it out soon,

Bev.

Hi Bev,

We've still had no reply via letter or by phone. Don't know how to look upon this. Whether positive or negative. It does seem a bit strange though. A recorded delivery letter was posted and all instructions followed.

A letter from them may have been lost in the post as there was the BAD flooding in Hull at the time and also numerous postal strikes in-between.

Glad yours got sorted ! I like good news !

Kirsty